I have been on a bit of a hiatus from the “what I learned” series … not because I wasn’t learning, but I wasn’t recording what I learned. And one of the things I’m learning is how increasingly sieve-like my brain has become in “old” age and post-motherhood. So if I don’t write it down, I may never ever find that thought again. It’s alarming. But, well, a saving grace too that we have technology at the tip of our fingers at almost all times to record these thoughts that might otherwise slip away.

Without further ado … here’s my (remembered and written down) list as I join up with Emily Freeman (fave author, blogger, virtual muse for me …) for “What I learned in April“:

1. Explanation is more exhausting for me than proclamation. E.g. – answering ceaseless “why” questions from my three-year-old twin daughters wears.me.out. But speaking/teaching at women’s retreats is invigorating.

2. Chameleons don’t change colors with their environment but with their mood. For example, yellow is angry; white is scared.

3. C.S. Lewis was Irish! Not English, as I’ve always assumed. Learning this from Alister McGrath’s biography of Lewis.

4. I cannot hard boil eggs. I don’t like hard-boiled eggs, which I’m sure is probably part of why I’ve never learned how to properly hard boil eggs. But, like every “good” mother, I wanted to try to dye Easter eggs with my girls this year. So I hard boiled eggs (or so I thought). Alas, after they had turned various Easter-y colors, when dropped on the floor, they cracked. And seeped. Yuck! So I think I’ll cross “dyeing Easter eggs” off my list of things to do with my girls.

5. Speaking at three women’s retreats in a two-month period of time with a non-reduced counseling, mothering, homemaking load is TOO MUCH for me in this season. One retreat a semester is likely more reasonable for me until my kids are in school full-time.

6. I have good friends. Friends who have prayed and supported me and been so patient and understanding as I’ve been “off the grid” the past three months. Very thankful for you!

7. Road trips with friends are way more fun!! Jennifer and I packed our FOUR girls under the age of six into her Enclave and drove down to Columbia, SC, for spring break to visit our respective families. We had a blast – the road passed much more quickly and our girls seemed to entertain each other pretty well.

8. Friends with roots/history are true treasures. While in Columbia, I met up with a dear friend Schelyn who I’ve known since we were neighborhood playmates as kids. And there were tears in our eyes to reunite and meet her four kids, and my two. We picked up right where we left off, all six kids in tow at the Riverbanks Zoo, and had *such* a wonderful time.

9. Creativity is worth nurturing. Thank you, Brene Brown, for being my guide through the fabulous e-course through the guideposts of “The Gifts of Imperfection.” And thank you, Robin and Sarah, for being traveling companions with me. Let’s go make art!